School's First Day of School

School’s First Day of School, by Adam Rex is a great way to start the year! First of all, we should begin with how much we love Adam Rex! He is an interesting, clever, and funny guy, and we use many of the books he writes and illustrates as mentor texts inside our reading and writing workshops.  His website is full of information sure to entertain you on its own! In School’s First Day of School, he partners with illustrator Christian Robinson, whose most recently illustrated Last Stop on Market Street, which received a Caldecott Honor. Robinson’s simplistic illustrations provide an accessible style for children to replicate. His books are great mentor texts in the classroom to use when illustrating their own books!

School’s First Day of School tells the story from the perspective of a brand new school brought to life with illustrations personifying the front of the school. Robinson’s thoughtful subtlety allows readers to make these discovery of the School's face on their own, which we know children love to do! The story will connect to any child (or teacher!) who experiences anxiety a new school year often creates, which makes for a great SEL lesson!  Robinson’s acrylic and collage illustrations reflect a beautifully diverse student body and follows a small freckled girl as she conquers her anxiety before the last pages turn. Rex creates a story with a very real plot for children, and he does it with perfectly placed jokes to give readers something to consider and a reason to laugh!  Perhaps the most heartwarming relationship is between School and Janitor. Janitor plays a nurturing role as he calms School’s anxiety before school starts. He is the expert in all things “school”, and he lovingly takes care of School to make it a special place for the children and teachers- Just like Ms. Norma and Ms. Nicolasa (a special shout out to our special friends who take such great care of our classrooms!)

Rex creates a story full of School’s internal dialogue, which is something we encourage our young writers to use in their stories. Internal dialogue mirrors real life, which creates voice and authenticity. Using internal dialogue is an effective way to elaborate, and it gives readers details they can’t acquire any other way. The collaborative work between author and illustrator make this book a great tool to use with children who want to try on personification and perspective as they write.

-- A must have for the beginning of the year!

Mentor Text Ideas: internal dialogue, perspective, personification,